XYZZYnews
Issue #13
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HOLLOW VOICE
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After a long hibernation, I'm back with XYZZYnews.
There were plenty of gentle -- and not-so-gentle! -- reminders that you
were all wondering when the next issue was going to come out. These came
from all directions -- inquisitive e-mail messages, third-hand reports
about far-flung queries on the IF newsgroups, and no-nonsense demands that
I put aside my everyday worries (about work, freelance work, lawsuits, my
housing crisis) and get back to the important business of 'zine
publishing. Even on Liza Daly's wonderful new interactive fiction MUD (at
http://fovea.retina.net:4001/) I was taken aback to find not only a
XYZZYnews room, but also that an angry mob had gathered therein, anxious
for the next issue to appear!
There are also plenty of reasons I feel guilty about being so tardy about
releasing a new issue. I hope you can forgive me these setbacks -- for the
future, I've embarked on a couple of strategies that should help
streamline my production processes. I'm cutting out one version of the
XYZZYnews subscription -- namely, the kind that includes the games disk.
I was finding that the last part of putting together every issue was
always finding the games to include on that issue's disk and securing
permission from the game authors to include in these collections. I'm also
eliminating the date on each issue -- at least while I'm so far behind my
normal bi-monthly print schedule -- so that I'm no longer paralyzed by
working on an issue for a time period that's nearly at an end (or already
ended). I'm in the process of working through my subscription list and
working out appropriate adjustments as necessary for folks who've paid for
the game disks -- and this should be the last part where I have to ask you
to bear with me.
In the meantime, please enjoy this issue's articles: C.E. Forman's final
submission, and a real treat from Miron Schmidt on how MUDs are like (and
not at all like) text adventure games.
Until next issue, happy gaming!
Eileen Mullin
eileen@interport.net
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Contents:
**Top 10 Picks for IF on the Web
**Letters
**An Interview with Prolific Playtester Michael Kinyon
**Article: Dungeons, Dragons, Shovels, and Telepaty -- A Brief Look
at MUD Design
**Bulletin Board: readers helping other readers
**Winners' Circle: listing the winners of the XYZZY Awards for Best
IF of 1996
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LEGALESE
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XYZZYnews is published more-or-less bimonthly by Bran Muffin Communications,
160 West 24th Street, # 7C, New York, NY 10011, USA.
E-mail: eileen@interport.net.
URL: http://www.xyzzynews.com/.
Send all inquiries, letters, and submissions to any of the addresses above.
Contents (c) 1997 XYZZYnews. All rights reserved. Published in the
United States of America.
Electronic versions: There are currently three versions of XYZZYnews
made available online. One is in ASCII and can be viewed with any
text reader. You can also download a .PDF file that mirrors the layout
of the print version. Use the Adobe Acrobat Reader (available for
Windows, Mac, DOS and UNIX) to view the .PDF file; no special fonts
or linked graphics are needed. You can obtain Acrobat Reader from
ftp.adobe.com in the pub/adobe/applications/Acrobat folder, or
follow the links from their Web page at http://www.adobe.com/.
Thirdly, you can also read this issue of XYZZYnews on the World Wide
Web at http://www.xyzzynews.com/xyzzy.13.html
Subscriptions: All electronic versions are available at no cost. You can
obtain either the ASCII or PDF versions by FTPing to the
ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/magazines/ XYZZYnews directory. To be added
to the mailing list, please write to eileen@interport.net and specify
text-only or .PDF version. The print version is $21 (U.S.) for one year
(6 issues) or $3.50 for a sample issue. For print subscriptions outside
the U.S. or Canada, please e-mail or write for rates.
All products, names, and services are trademarks or registered
trademarks of their respective companies.
Editor:
Eileen Mullin
Associate Editor:
Neil deMause
Contributors to this issue:
C.E. Forman
Miron Schmidt
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Issue #13 Top 10 Picks for IF on the World Wide Web
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Adventure WebRing
http://www.realkids.com/webring.htm
Don Woods' Home Page
http://www.clari.net/~don
Zplet
http://adamant.res.wpi.edu/~timbuktu/inform/informtest.html
The TADS Page
http://www.tela.bc.ca/tela/tads/
Fredrik's Intereactive Fiction Start Kit Page
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/6116/ifstart.html
Unearthed
http://unearthed.mit.edu/unearthed/unearthed.html
Interactive Fiction -- Joe DeRouen's Home Page
http://www.crl.com/~jderouen/textadvs/
The Dwarf and the Axe: IF Programmers Page
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/3567/
Interactive Fiction Primer
http://home.earthlink.net/~russbryan/primer.html
An Introductory Invitation To Interactive Fiction
http://www.omnipresence.com/amiga/News/AR/ar413_Sections/feature1.HTML
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LETTERS
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To XYZZYnews:
I am really impressed by your fine publication. I have downloaded all of
the back issues and have been slowly devouring them as I find time.
My first exposure to IF was with Zork when I was about 14, back in the early
'80s. I owned an AppleII clone, no hard drive. I used to write quite a few
of my own programs, but I was really into adventure games. I remember saving
up all of my nickels from my paper route to by Zork I! I was never able
to finish the game because my computer went on the blink soon afterwards.
I am now in the planning (paper) stages of writing my own game. I want to
eventually enter it into a contest, not this year though.
I guess I have rambled on enough...Keep on 'venturing.
Chris Seguin
seguin@telusplanet.net
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Eileen,
Having been a fan of text adventures and interactive fiction since 1983,
I was extremely dismayed by the damage the Graphics Revolution caused to
my favorite computer gaming genre. Nowadays, it seems a lot of computer
games are not very interactive, and are little more than 'vehicles' to show
off the latest in graphics technology. A way of helping designers sell more
SVGA monitors.
Since much of today's commercial computer gaming (including Activision's
poor 'Zork' games) leaves such a sour taste in my mouth, I was very pleased
to discover that interactive fiction is being kept alive via shareware.
And I was very pleased to find a publication devoted to it.
XYZZYnews is, in my opinion, THE best magazine devoted to IF since The New
Zork Times/Status Line. The articles (such as 'Tales from the Code Front',
'Gender in Interactive Fiction', etc) are compelling reading, and the
reviews are perfect for anyone who wants to know more about the various
shareware IF available.
And of course, I also greatly enjoy the occasional interviews with the
'Implementors' of the classic Infocom games. And the puzzles and humor
articles are in the best tradition of NZT/TSL.
In short, I give this publication four stars. Keep up the good work!
Chris Lang
MKST21C@prodigy.com
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Eileen,
Thanks so much for running that interview with me in the latest XYZZYnews
[September/ October 1996]! The only appropriate way I could think of to
thank you for so much good press was to release an update of CosmoServe
with an XYZZY command response plugging your wonderful 'zine. (okay well,
I also fixed some bugs and relieved the frustrating time pressures).
Since I was being so industrious between semesters I also updated the Shades
of Gray game files (yes, XYZZY plugs you there now too!), and both games
have just been uploaded to CompuServe Gamer's forum and gmd.de-if (and soon
to an appropriate AOL folder when the person who offered to do it for me
gets back to me).
Thanks again, and good luck with all your professional ventures!
Cheers,
Judith Pintar
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Hi Eileen,
Great Web site and 'zine! I was amazed that anyone still treats "interactive
fiction" as a serious pastime. The interviews with Lebling et al. were really
enlightening. I've wondered for years what became of those guys, so it was
fascinating to run across the rec.arts and rec.games. IF subgroups (and
XYZZYnews, and your web site...) while surfing DejaNews.
I must apologize after the fact for depositing 100K of unsolicited 'stuff'
in your email, but this attachment might make an amusing stocking-stuffer
for your new XYZZYnews web site. :-) I honestly don't know what else to
do with it... feel free to move it to the appropriate binaries group or
FTP site for IF stuff, or let me know where to leave it.
Again, thanks, and keep up the good work!
John Miles
jmiles@pop.net
Thanks for the kind words, and for the game files. Readers, these files
are for an Apple II test gamedemo scenario called Mindtrap: "Escape from
Belsaena". They include a .TXT file and two Apple ][ .NIB images attached
as a .ZIP. Since .NIB files are Apple IIe disk images, you'll need to run
an Apple II emulator program; see the READ.ME file for suggestions on where
to download one. I've served up these files on my Web site as a zipped file
at http://www.xyzzynews.com/downloads/mindrap.zip. -- EM
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IF's LITERARY LEANINGS
In XYZZYnews #12 you mentioned finding an reference to Zork in a novel,
well I got another IF reference for you, and I'm sure it's intentional...
In the book Taltos by Steven Brust (Ace Fantasy) there is a section where
the main character, Vlad Taltos, is with a couple of friends, past DeathGate
and in the Hall of Judgment -- how they got there is most of the novel. :)
There is a section, when they decide to find their own way out of the Hall
of Judgment where it turns into, as described by Vlad, and I quote "A maze
of twisty little passages, all the same."
I broke out in hysterical laughter when I saw this line. :) That is, to
me, a very direct tip of the hat to Adventure. :)
Fox Cutter
lmb@comtch.iea.com
Piers Anthony has a book out that actually has the player sucked into the
game. The whole book is about the player coming to terms. I believe it was
the 1996 book in the Xanth series. I can't remember the title.
Bill B.
bblohm@hpbs1686.boi.hp.com
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INFOCOM BUG UPDATE
Nifty Zork bug I just discovered: Start the game, go into the Living room,
move rug, get all, light lamp go e and up into Attic, get knife, go d, w,
open trap door (now the trapdoor is apparently the last noun you've referred
to), d (trapdoor slams shut) and north. Then do:
>kill troll
What do you want to kill the troll with?
>again
The trap door opens.
I had wanted to go kill the troll and then kill it again, not realizing
I had two weapons. The really neat thing is that the door stays open, and
you can go back up and then down and it won't slam shut again!
This works on 75/830929, 88/840726, but not 15/UG3AU5. In the latter it
does:
>kill troll
What do you want to kill the troll with?
>again
You can't go that way.
Here's an old bug for version 15/UG3AU5:
Go to the Bat Room while carrying garlic, type "get all" (a common thing
to type) or "get bat" And you get:
Fweep!
Fweep!
Fweep!
A deranged giant vampire bat (a reject from WUMPUS) swoops down from
his belfry and lifts you away....
This does not work at least with 75/830929 nor 88/840726
Allen Garvin
earendil@faeryland.tamu-commerce.edu
I have a version of Enchanter, release 10 with serial number 840820, where
every occurrence of the string "is" has been replaced by "adventurer". Using
Z-tools shows that "adventurer" occurs twice in the abbreviation table.
I then thought that the game had been corrupted on the way somehow, but
everything else looks fine, and Z-tools says that the checksum is correct
and the file intact. Odd, it is. And hard it is, to concentrate on solving
a game that says "There adventurer a road to the west."
Fredrik Ramsberg
d91frera@und.ida.liu.se
I believe I found a bug not mentioned in the bug list found on XYZZYnews
in:
The Lurking Horror
Release 203 / Serial number 870506
(Distributed via the Masterpieces Collection.
Running the data file off of Frotz.)
Whether or not you have actually seen the hidden suicide note on top of
the Great Dome, the description of the sign-up sheet in the Department of
Alchemy will always tell you who wrote the suicide note after you remember
that the guy signed-up took a plunge off a building.
To check it out, do the thing to get the floor waxer out of the way. Go
into the Department (knock), and then look at the sheet. Wait to remember
the student's name. Look at the sheet again. It says the suicide note was
written by the guy. We have not yet seen the suicide note. Since it is
hidden in the top of the Great Dome, the suicide note probably hasn't been
publicly displayed or anything.
Cable Hicks
hicks@goldrush.com
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INTERVIEW WITH A PLAYTESTER EXTRAORDINAIRE
XYZZYnews talks ith Michael Kinyon
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by C.E. Forman (ceforman@postoffice.worldnet.att.net)
XYZZYnews: Please tell us a little about yourself and the aspects of your
life that don't touch on IF.
Michael Kinyon (MK)>: I am 32 years old. I live in South Bend, Indiana,
USA. I am married and happily have no children. I am an assistant
professor of mathematics at Indiana University South Bend. (Those wishing
to find out more about my mathematical research can get information from
my home page at http://sun1.iusb.edu/~mkinyon. I lead a quiet
academic-in-the-ivory-tower sort of life.
XYZZYnews: You've mentioned on r.g.i-f that you decided to become solely a
tester of IF games, not an author. What led to this decision? What was the
very first game you ever beta-tested?
MK: In retrospect, I realize that the remark to which you refer sounds
quite a bit more pretentious than I intended it to be. I did not mean to
make it sound like a high-minded defense of playtesting as an art; that
certainly contributed to the decision, but there were other far more
mundane reasons. For one thing, I have never had any ideas for games that
are worth pursuing. For another, I do not really have the time to learn a
game development system. Those two reasons alone are quite sufficient as
an excuse for not writing games.
I began my testing "career" by sending bug reports on already-released
games to their authors. The first games for which I did this were
Unnkuulia I, II, and Zero (and yes, I did register those games). I had no
particular reason for doing this other than good will and a wish to help
out. My vision of share/freeware programs at the time was that they were
always works in progress.
At about the same time, I was also sending short bug reports on Curses
(one of the early releases) to Graham Nelson. Here I had an ulterior
motive: I hated to bother Graham by asking him for hints, so I approached
him in the spirit of exchange, a bug for a hint. Graham was very
responsive to my reports, which I found very encouraging.
The real breakthrough for me came when on a lark I posted an "advertisement"
to r.a.i-f announcing my availability as a beta-tester. In the ad, I "quoted"
some of the prominent people in the newsgroup praising me for my wonderful
abilities. I forget all of them now, but the one I still think was best
was my quoting Mike Roberts as saying that I had talked him out of writing
TADS in BASIC. People responded in good humor, and then I started getting
testing requests.
There is an implicit part of your question that I have not yet addressed:
why do I like to test at all? I am not an expert at self-psychoanalysis,
but I can give you a few thoughts on this. Some of it stems from not so
much a destructive instinct as much as a deconstructive instinct: what are
the limits of the game and where does its behavior go beyond the
expectations of the author or the player. Some of it is also based on
repetition as a form of anxiety reduction. Recall that in Beyond the
Pleasure Principle, Freud wrote of patients who were constantly reliving
traumatic episodes, a clinical observation that flew in the face of his
earlier thought. My approach to IF, whether I am testing or just playing,
is similar to this; I will replay a single scene again and again until I
am as familiar with it as I can be. This is not something I do because I
decided to do it, it's just the way I play. I think the reason I do play
this way is to cope with the stress of "living in the game". Or maybe a
better way of saying it is that it allows me to put some critical distance
between myself and the character with whom I am supposed to be identifying
in the game. In any case, when one plays like this (notice how cleverly I
depersonalized my style of play by using the word "one", as if to suggest
I am about to draw a universal conclusion), one is bound to stumble across
bugs and design problems. Thus was an undeserved reputation born. Of
course it was also supported by several self-serving posts on the
newsgroups.
XYZZYnews: Currently, about how many games in the Archive display your
name in the testers credits?
MK: I am not very good at order-of-magnitude estimates (an embarrassing
characteristic, considering what I do for a living). Some of my testing
credits include, in no particular order: Curses, Jigsaw, Christminster, So
Far, Horror of Rylvania, Waystation, Legend Lives, Enhanced, Lost New
York, Gumshoe, Magic Toyshop, Night in the Computer Centre, A Change in
the Weather, Small World, Kissing the Buddha's Feet, Tapestry, Stargazer,
Wearing the Claw, The House of the Stalker, and Lethe. I'm probably
forgetting some at the moment, and I've probably mangled a game title or
two; my apologies to the authors! I've also tested quite a few things that
were never released. One I can mention, because the author makes fun of
himself for vaporware, is Avalon.
XYZZYnews: Which, if any, have been your favorites?
MK: Among so-called full scale games that have been released, my favorites
are Curses, Jigsaw and So Far, not necessarily in that order.
Curses, of course, is the game with which I have the longest personal
relationship, and is thus the one to which I am the most attached. If
Graham was the game's father, I feel a lot like its maternal uncle (in
other words, I'm the useless brother-in-law). Jigsaw is also up there on
my list just slightly behind Curses. If you like, you can think of the
relationship between these two games as analogous to the relationship
between Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Monty Python's Life of Brian.
Both are wonderful, but the earlier work has a less polished and more
chaotic feel to it. I don't think I really need to give detailed reviews
here of either game; much that expresses what I would say has already been
written about both of them. As an aside, I should mention that both games
became a part of my life for quite a long time and led to an intense
"working" relationship with Graham. Even though we do not actually
correspond very often, I still consider him to be one of the most
wonderful people I have ever had the privilege of meeting through the
Internet. We eventually met in person. Graham took Kamila (my wife) and me
to high table dinner at Magdalen College the last time we were in Oxford.
Getting back to games, let me say something about So Far. Of all the games
I have played, this is probably the one that has had the largest
intellectual and emotional effect on me. In r.g.i-f, people sometimes
write about their emotional reactions to certain games; a favorite
"tear-jerker" seems to be one of Floyd's two deaths in Planetfall or
Stationfall. In my opinion, for maximal impact in a minimalist text, there
is nothing to compare with So Far's scene in the crawl space. I also
cannot describe adequately how deeply moved I was when I finally finished
the game. My main advice to players of that game is to avoid engaging in a
Joycean hermeneutic analysis that attempts to discover what each scene
"really" means. In my view, IF players are particularly prone to fall into
that sort of trap. Although certainly the various scenes in the game have
meanings for its author, So Far is the one game above all others that
illustrates that the determination of authorial intent is not as important
in literary interpretation as is the recognition that the dissemination of
a text as a text is a virtual guarantee that meanings will multiply.
(Notice I did not say that So Far is without meaning, which was a view I
once held.)
Among small games, my favorite is probably A Change in the Weather. When
I say "small", I am not, of course, referring to the length of time required
for completion, I am referring to such things as the landscape of the game
and the sparsity of the text. A Change in the Weather packs quite a bit
of punch in a small package.
Do not make too much of the fact that there are only Inform games on my
list; I have no particular preference among the game systems. In fact,
there is a TADS game that has not been released that I would rank among my
all-time favorites, but I can say nothing more about it at this point.
XYZZYnews: Is there a particular genre or style of IF that appeals to you?
MK: My preference is for games that violate the rules of the genre in
which they pretend to be situated. All the games I mentioned in my
favorites list above do this in one form or another. I am not speaking of
mere anachronism (such as a magic wand in a "realist" game), but a genuine
attempt to push the limits of a genre for aesthetic effect.
As far as a genre that I would like to see further explored, I have been a
bit surprised that there has not been too much attention focused on
erotica. I see this as an untapped well for IF.
XYZZYnews: What tactics do you generally use to seek out bugs in games?
Which tricks seem to pay off the best? What types of bugs turn up most
frequently?
MK: I usually do not use a "test oracle", despite the fact that this is
good debugging advice in general. As I mentioned above, playing a scene
over and over usually helps. If a game has a lot of takeable objects, then
I know there will be bugs aplenty, because no author ever foresees what
will happen to all of them. My warning flags go up in timed events as
well; it is surprising how many authors forget that if a player leaves the
room, descriptions about what is going on in another room no longer make
any sense. If there are a lot of fuses in one scene, I will usually try to
see if I can make things happen out of sequence. I realize this is not a
good answer to your question, but my approach to testing is pretty
intuitive.
XYZZYnews: How much does the compiler used seem to affect this?
MK: Nowadays it doesn't, really. Of course in every TADS game, there will
be at least one "Which golden ocelot do you mean, the golden ocelot or the
golden ocelot?" type of bug, but there are not as many of these as there
used to be. Of course the really big bugs are those that crash the
interpreter, but I cannot say that any game development system is more
prone to this than any other.
XYZZYnews: What traps should potential game authors try to avoid falling
into?
MK: My main advice is not to start coding before all the possible
implications of a scene have been worked out. I never cease to be amazed
how many authors confuse designing with coding.
XYZZYnews: In providing feedback, do you prefer to stick to
straightforward bug reports, or are you willing to provide an analysis and
criticism of a game if an author requests it?
MK: This depends on how busy I am. I have (unfortunately) agreed to
analyze a game and then become too swamped with work to have time to
follow up on this.
An unfortunate instance of this was the '96 competition. This is a bit off
the subject of your question, but in the interest of self-examination, I
have to say that I am not particularly proud of how I handled my testing
responsibilities. More than one author requested an analysis, and I just
did not have the time to get it done before the competition. In fact I got
so busy, I was unable to do even adequate routine testing of some games.
If you don't mind, let me use this forum to apologize to all those authors
who may have felt that I let them down.
Getting back to your question, one of the problems that comes up is that
some authors tend to be a bit thin-skinned in their reactions to an
analysis. I realize that many beginners are afraid that their games will
not live up to some (nonexistent) standard, but my advice to such authors
is to not take the criticism as a personal assault. If I say that "I do
not think that such-and-such a scene is very well designed for the
following reasons...", I am not saying "You are a lousy designer". I am
just trying to help authors refine their games so that they express what
I think they want them to express.
XYZZYnews: Suppose someone asks you to beta-test a game that you just
can't stand playing. Has this situation ever come up? How would you
(tactfully) handle it if it did?
MK: Yes, this has happened a couple of times with unfinished games. (This
is not beta-testing, of course, but alpha-testing.) I enjoy testing
unfinished games, but sometimes it turns out that an author does not have
any idea at all about where a game is going, and this can be very
frustrating. When these problems have come up, they have resolved
themselves because the authors announced they were giving up on their
games. If it were ever the case that I was testing, say, a finished game
that I really despised, I would probably just say I was unable to continue
testing and leave it at that. If an author pressed me and asked why, I
would probably cite personal reasons.
XYZZYnews: How long have you been testing IF games?
MK: Since the fall of 1992.
XYZZYnews: About how many hours a week do you spend on testing?
MK: That varies too much for me to estimate. For instance, I have not
tested at all in several weeks, so my average has been pulled way down.
XYZZYnews: Any favorite bug stories you'd like to share?
MK: Heh. Well, I'd better not. I'll let the authors tell about them if
they wish.
XYZZYnews: Have you noticed any regular peaks during which many authors
tend to release games (not counting the competitions)?
MK: I think the question you really wanted to ask me is if I noticed any
times of the year when testing requests reach a peak. Releases come after
testing, of course.
The competition has skewed this because more authors are focusing their
energies on it. Otherwise, I would say I get more requests in late
February and early March than at any other time. I get the fewest requests
from October through January.
XYZZYnews: What's the maximum number of games you've been testing at the
same time?
MK: Again, the competition affects this. Last year, counting competition
and full-size games, I had eight going at once. That was a bit ridiculous,
I know, so I will be more careful this year.
XYZZYnews: Have you noticed any specific trends in modern IF? What are
your thoughts on where the medium is currently going?
MK: I am currently not up to the task of sorting out my thoughts on this.
I think this is a very complicated issue that touches upon involves
several factors: the text as a work of art; the anachronism of text-based
games in an atmosphere of increasing technological sophistication (a fancy
way of expressing the strangeness of playing a text adventure on a modern
computer); the predominance of computer scientists, particularly students
in the medium; amateurs versus professionals; the growing popularity of
the marketing model; etc., etc. I'm afraid it's a bit beyond my powers of
ratiocination at the present time.
XYZZYnews: What games are you currently testing? Would you be willing to
provide any specific details, or do you prefer to keep the author-tester
relationships confidential?
MK: I am not actively testing anything at the moment because no one has
asked me. I suspect the reason is that I am not a regular poster on
r.*.i-f, and I no longer respond to "call for beta-testers" posts, so many
folks do not know that I am available. There are two unfinished games, one
of which is Avalon, where I am in a holding pattern. Even if I were
actively testing, I do not think I could really say anything about the
games (unless the authors requested that I "talk them up"). I respect
confidentiality.
XYZZYnews: Anything else you'd like to add?
MK: As I said, I am available right now if anyone would like me to take a
crack at a game. Other than that, I'll just say: keep reading XYZZYnews!
(How was that for an endorsement?)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Dungeons, Dragons, Shovels, and Telepathy
A brief look at MUD design
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
by Miron Schmidt (s590501@tfh-berlin.de)
---------------
I. Introduction
---------------
MUD is short for "Multi-User Dungeon," as most of you will know. There are
a number of similar environments which have evolved from the original MUD
idea, such as MUSEs, MUSHes, MOOs, and so on. In this article, I will only
talk about MUDs -- partly because I feel more at home in them, partly
because the differences in terms of design aren't terribly big.
A MUD, at the time of writing, is a text-only, multi-user, real-time
environment, very much like a text adventure game, and very much unlike
it.
Let's focus on the similarities first. Commands are given to the MUD in
short natural sentences, like "open the door," or "wear the chainmail."
The complexity of these sentences depends mostly on the care the designer
has put into parsing, as every object is allowed to define its own verbs
and their respective syntaxes.
It is quite common that one area may accept only very simple, two-word
commands, while the area next door allows for unbelievably complex
structures. TUBMUD, the only MUD where I actually code, features a quest
in which, at one point, the player is required to take a shrink-head by
typing the command "take the shrinkhead of the orc shaman from the pillow
on the pillar next to the western wall." If the syntax isn't followed
exactly, the -- hilariously funny -- error message "Take the what of the
what from the what on the what next to the which what?" appears.
Those "MUD quests" are small adventures that require a sequence of puzzles
to be solved, much like little games on their own. The puzzles range from
simple riddles (a character might expect an answer to a verse), over
logical exercises, such as building a sand castle, to monsters that have
to be killed in a role-playing game fashion. In fact, fighting is an
integral part of MUDs: most employ complex combat systems that make the
choice of armor and weapons an important part of playing.
--------------
II. Real time
--------------
While in most text adventure games, time progresses only between
subsequent input lines from the player, encouraging her to think carefully
about every action, MUD time runs steadily. This results, among other
things, in time-critical sequences being rather hectic: players have to
type their actions as fast and accurate as possible, and the consequences
cannot be undone.
In design terms, much care has to be taken that the player's input bears
instant results. Redirecting input, for instance to confirm a dangerous
attempt, is a definite no-no, if it isn't done with extensive care:
A grizzly bear paces nervously up and down.
> pinch the grizzly bear in the side
Do you really want to do that? (y/n)
Suddenly, the bear wheels around, facing you with obvious wrath!
> run away as fast as possible
Please answer yes or no: Do you really want to do that? (y/n)
The bear hits you with a bone-crunching sound.
...
On the other hand, the real-time environment allows for attractive little
details: a clock that strikes the hour; a magic potion that stays in effect
for five minutes (thus prompting the player to plan _before_ quaffing it);
a beautiful orchid that blossoms only once a month...
---------------------
III. Multiple players
---------------------
Multiple players necessitate multiple solutions. This is not an option;
it's a requirement! A stone block that you can't lift because it's too heavy,
requiring you to drink a potion of cyclops strength just won't do: three
players will be able to move it without.
When designing messages, it is always vital to ponder all possible
constellations of players: there are five possible kinds of players to be
considered.
* The player who acts.
* The player he acts on.
* Onlooking players.
* Players in nearby locations.
* Players in distant locations.
Thus, if Belphegor zaps a wand of earthquake at Lliana, the following
messages need to be printed.
* Belphegor: "You zap the wand of earthquake at Lliana. The earth shakes
violently under her feet."
* Lliana: "Belphegor zaps a wand of earthquake at you. The earth shakes
violently under your feet."
* Others in the same location: "Belphegor zaps a wand of earthquake at
Lliana. The earth shakes violently under her feet."
* Others in nearby locations: "Suddenly, the earth shakes violently."
* Others in distant locations: "Suddenly, a faint rumble can be heard."
Note the different use of "the wand" vs. "a wand." Alternatively, "your
wand" and "his wand" could be used.
-------------------------------
IV. Making it feel like a whole
-------------------------------
Players have inherent capabilities that are to be regarded when designing
objects and characters. Next to skills, stats (like strength or
constitution), and visual characteristics (such as scars and tattoos),
there is one power to be especially minded: the power of telepathy. In
most MUDs (all I know, to be sure), players can "tell" and "shout."
Telling is the ability to telepathically communicate with other players,
no matter how far away they are are; and shouting is the ability to scream
something so loud that every other player will hear it.
If the player is transformed into something different, or his perception
is manipulated, his means to communicate will change. LPMUDs (MUDs using
an interface that was initially designed by Lars Penssjo) feature a curse
that will transform the player into a frog. All shouts by this player will
be transformed to
A big frog shouts: Hrribit! Hrriiibbitt!
A friend of mine once designed a drug that, when taken, would sporadically
cause the player to see things and, unknown to him, display reactions to
that. For instance, he would get the message
You say: I feel perfectly normal again.
while the other players in the room would see (if the player were called
Geronimo)
Geronimo says: Argl! Argh argl!
To offer some further examples for objects that will change the player's
abilities: a broken arm will drastically lower the player's fighting skill;
a chewing gum will muffle everything she says; being too drunk, a delicate
combination lock will prove unopenable.
---------------------
V. Object orientation
---------------------
While in a text adventure game, the author is responsible for every single
object, this is not at all true in a MUD. In fact, good programming will
even consider those objects that didn't yet exist when it was written.
The worst imaginable situation for a player is that when he tries to dig
in, say, a moldy haystack, he gets a parser complaint ("Dig where?") while
a shovel bought in the shop around the corner will dig perfectly well. As
a programmer, one has to make sure that such puzzles are handled flexible
enough: one has to create the process of digging in a way that rewards the
idea, not the action, even if this means anticipating bad creations by other
programmers.
As an example, if I wanted to place a tree in a certain place, which the
player would have to tie a rope to, I could create a rope that allows to
be tied to the tree. However, if the player then tried to tie a different
rope to my tree, that rope wouldn't probably know that it could be tied
at all. Thus, a better solution would be to let the tree know that a rope
can be tied to it: any object that fit the description "rope" would then
satisfy my condition.
Proper object oriented design is the hardest part of MUD design. I might
decide that a ladder would be equally suitable to climb my tree; so I
would tell the tree that an object fitting the description "ladder" could
be leaned against it in order to climb up. A rope ladder, however, fits
the description and still cannot be leaned against anything. So I'd have
to anticipate that possibility, too. In any case, whatever amount of work
I would put into my tree, I could never foresee every possible solution:
Superwizard's Fabulous Device of Climbing Like A Squirrel wouldn't work on
it.
-----------------
IV. Conventions
-----------------
To make object orientation easier for the novice programmer, it is a good
idea to follow certain conventions or create one's own: it can be queried
whether a certain object is alive, a weapon, or edible (or all of the above,
such as a lobster). If I created a quill, for example, I would allow it
to write on everything that calls itself "paper," "parchment" or "papyrus"
-- and additionally allow other objects to identify as "writable on," so
that my quill could be used to expand their description.
This works in the other direction, too. An antidote would offer to "heal
poison," so that a dangerous fruit would know its effects could be reversed
by that potion.
Still, creators will have to foresee as many different uses of their items
as they possibly can, since there will certainly be those other creators
who choose not to follow conventions, however bad a decision that may be.
---------------------------------
VII. Finally, a quest is prepared
---------------------------------
Writing a quest requires further considerations.
* How many players should take part?
* Will they need prior experience (combat, casting spells, etc.)?
* Will they need to bring special equipment (such as an empty bottle, or
a rope)?
* How long will it take to solve it?
Players in a MUD cannot save their game state. It is therefore advised not
to top three to four hours solving time for a long quest. At least,
players should be warned if the quest is exceedingly long. Such a quest
should additionally provide a special service to play in multiple
sessions. The quest might by split into three parts, with every part only
accessible if the earlier ones have been solved. The player could go back
to the campaign office and register the key events he has solved so far.
Or he might have a non-player companion who will keep track of his
achievements and wait for him to begin a new session.
If the quest is designed for one player, what will happen if he brings a
friend? If he brings two? An unscalable wall will be much less of a problem
if one character can step on another's shoulders. Sir Archibald the Knight
isn't all that dangerous if attacked by four characters at once. A trap
door won't be suddenly closed if one character guards it from above.
These possibilities will have to be thought of when writing a quest. A simple
solution would be to shut out other players as soon as one has entered the
quest (teleport device, force field, riding into battle on horseback).
----------------
VIII. Conclusion
----------------
Design decision have far-reaching consequences in a MUD. A mistake often
made by novice programmers is to design a MUD quest in the same way as a
text adventure game: a MUD is something entirely different, even though
it looks temptingly similar at the first glance.
MUDs, as well as all their numerous siblings, are interactive fiction on
a different level. Not necessarily a higher level, but certainly different
enough to be enjoyed as a new experience.
If you haven't already -- make up your own mind. I'll be happy to lead you
through the wonders of TUBMUD. Just drop me a note.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
BULLETIN BOARD
Readers helping other readers
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Here are some queries I've received recently from readers looking
for hard-to-find games, or who are in need of specific help. If you
can help answer any of these requests, please don't be shy about
chiming in with an answer! -- EM
------------------------------------------------------
I'm grasping at a straw here, but I'm looking for information regarding
the old Microsoft Adventure, and thought you could help me given your
XYZZYnews site.
Having found the "Classic Adventure" on CompuServe, I've never been able
to figure out the mazes (alike and different) and am looking for a map of
them. The documentation I've got from the original game is so old that,
when I call Microsoft, they don't even know what I'm talking about.
Can you point me in the right direction?
Bobbie Lackey
102577.3403@compuserve.com
------------------------------------------------------
You've got a great site going -- I can't place too many games above the
Infocom series for my all time favorites. There was one game that I remember
playing long ago, but just can't seem to find and I was hoping you might
have some information on it.
It was called Mansion (99.9% certain) and it was a contemporary of Colossal
Cave. I don't remember a whole lot about it, but if I remember correctly,
the game starts with you being dropped off outside an old mansion. You can
look around the grounds a little bit, but most of the action occurs inside.
I remember finding a gauntlet under a trapped table (King's / Queen's table?)
that allowed you to carry more stuff, and there was also a transmitter /
receiver pair of objects that you could use to teleport yourself around.
I believe the goal was to find treasure stashed in the mansion...
Sound familiar?? I'm looking for a copy that can run on an Intel PC machine.
John Nethery
blackhol@xnet.com
------------------------------------------------------
I'm looking for a text-based game I used to have for the C64. It was called
Sweet Sixteen. I think I had gotten it from a friend, since I don't think
it was ever sold in the stores. If you can help me, please write.
Tony
tony@pitnet.net
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Winners' Circle
The inaugural XYZZY Awards for Best IF of 1996
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The First Annual Xyzzy Awards Ceremonies were held live via telnet on
Saturday, February 8, 1997. The winning games, and their authors, were
named in the following categories:
Best Game
So Far, by Andrew Plotkin
Best Writing
So Far, by Andrew Plotkin
Best Story
Tapestry, by Daniel Ravipinto
Best Setting
Small World, by Andrew Pontious
Best Puzzles
So Far, by Andrew Plotkin
Best NPCs
Kissing the Buddha's Feet, by Leon Lin
Best Individual Puzzle
Opening the gate, from So Far
Best Individual NPC (three-way tie)
The Burin, from Frobozz Magic Support
The Devil, from Small World
Evan, from Kissing the Buddha's Feet